Israeli forces detain 3 siblings of wanted Palestinian in Tulkarem

Aug. 3, 2016 11:46 A.M. (Updated: Aug. 3, 2016 6:31 P.M.)

TULKAREM (Ma’an) – Israeli forces on Wednesday detained three siblings of Malik Ubeid, a Palestinian from the village of Farun in the northern occupied West Bank district of Tulkarem who is wanted by Israeli authorities, just two days after the detention of his mother and brother, as an attempt to pressure Malik to turn himself in to Israeli authorities, Palestinian security sources said.

Sources told Ma'an that Majdi, Qatiya, and Maha Ubeid were detained after Israeli forces raided their house. Israeli forces also attempted to detain Malik Ubeid himself in the early morning hours on Tuesday during a military raid in the Farun village, but failed, and instead detained four Palestinian youths.

Locals told Ma'an that Israeli forces have raided the Ubeid home several times, but have failed to detain him.

Malik’s mother and brother, Wafiqa Daoud Nasser Ubeid and Suleiman Ahmad Abd al-Qader Ubeid, were detained on Monday after being summoned to the Israeli liaison offices.

Malik’s mother has reportedly been released, according to sources. It remained unclear whether his brother remained in custody as of Wednesday.

Israeli authorities also reportedly telephoned Malik’s brother-in-law, who lives in the Tulkarem refugee camp, on Mondayand threatened to detain Malik’s sisters if he didn’t turn himself in.

An Israeli army spokesperson told Ma'an she could not provide a comment on the detentions, but would look into reports.

It remained unclear what Malik has been suspected of by Israeli authorities.

Israeli authorities have often come under criticism for policies aimed at punishing the families of Palestinians suspected of wrongdoing, including routinely detaining family members of wanted Palestinians, with rights groups calling the policies a form of "collective punishment" which target those who have not committed any crime.